FICTION

American Gospel

by Lin Enger
Univ. of Minnesota. Oct. 2020. 248p. ISBN 9781517910549. $24.95. F
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Set in 1974 with the Nixon resignation as a background, this latest from Enger (The High Divide) follows Enoch, a self-proclaimed prophet in rural Minnesota, who during a near-death experience receives a prophecy that the world will end in two weeks. Based on a radio broadcast that goes the 1970s version of viral, pilgrims flock to his farm. Meanwhile, his son Peter, struggling to establish a journalism career after failing to make it in professional baseball, sees an opportunity for a story that will put him on the map. Melanie, Peter’s girlfriend when they were teens, is now a Hollywood actress, with an addiction to painkillers and a failing marriage. She sees in Enoch’s prophecy a way out of her current situation, as well as a possibility to reconnect with Peter and the son they gave up for adoption.
VERDICT Enger wisely avoids making direct connections with current political events, though there are some subtle parallels. The largely young, marijuana-smoking “Jesus people” who show up on the farm are a sharp contrast to today’s Evangelical movement. Though much of the plot feels carefully orchestrated, events go in unexpected directions near the end, and the opposing perspectives of faith vs. reason are given equal weight in a story that will appeal to many fiction readers.
Reviewed by Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis , Oct 30, 2020
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